Languages
A list of the languages found in the world and their real-life equivalents (for like, worldbuilding and story reference I suppose?) Major Languages * Common: the most-spoken language among all races in the world, the various dialects of Common are generally universally understood but exist in spheres of regional difference: ** Imperial Common (Imperial Common: Common) is the most commonly-spoken form of Common and is considered the prestige-register in the Empire, Dixie, and other small nations. It is basically just English. ** Northern Common (Northern Common: Common z'Nord) is a creole form of Common spoken among the more rural parts of the North, and is sprinkled with vague Goblin-like intonations and phonetics. Considered "dirty Common" by the Empire. Kind of like if you took English and added a vaguely French or Brooklyn accent or made the words look kind of like Haitian Creole. ** Heavenly Common (Heavenly Common: 基本) is the prestige-register form of Common spoken in Dongxi Lu. While generally similar to Imperial Common, it is written in the Traditional Dongxi Script within the Dongxi Lu court. Due to the influences of Elves and Humans in the Empire, Imperial Common is thought to possess some Elvish influences early in its development, compared to Heavenly Common which is considered to be a "purer" version, although ultimately has incorporated bits of grammar and vocabulary from other languages within its large empire. * Dwarfish (Dwarfish: גַמָד): is the language of Dwarves, and one of the oldest languages. It is perhaps the fourth most-spoken language, behind Common, Elvish, and Goblin, and is the language in which a large collection of mechanical and scientific literature is written in. Dwarfish can find itself in nearly every location, relatively unchanged from diaspora to diaspora. Based on Hebrew. * Elvish (Elvish: loquela): is the language of all elves, and considered a prestige-language in the Empire, on par with Imperial Common. Elvish is the language of elf-centered politics, commerce, and diplomacy in the empire, but its deep roots also lead it to be a language of farming and forestry. Elvish is the only language that contains an official Academy of the Elvish Tongue (Elvish: academiae sermonis) which dictates the prescribed grammar and allowed vocabulary for the prestige standard of Elvish. Other forms of Elvish outside of the Empire, such as among the few elves in the North and Dongxi Lu, and those spoken among the "uninspired sub-elves" (Elvish: elvus egens) such as the Drows (elvus saccularius) and Wood Elves (elvus sordidus), are all considered "degenerate Elvish" and heavily frowned upon, and banned in the Empire. Based on Latin. * Goblin (New Goblin: Lutin, Old Goblin: ผี-การพูด): the language of goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears, Goblin has an old and ancient history close to par with Dwarfish, but under years of abuse and slavery much of that history has been lost, thus scholars classify two forms of Goblin: the present day Goblin known as New Goblin which borrows heavily from Imperial Common and Elvish, and Old Goblin, thought to be spoken at the height of Goblin rule on the continent. Goblin is the speech of the Goblin Rebellion and one of the official languages of the North. Goblin is banned in the Empire. There is an effort to revive Old Goblin among young goblins in Goblin People's Schools set up by the rebellion and gaining prominence in the North. New Goblin is based on French and Old Goblin is based on Thai but sounds like French but cooler. * Orc (Orc: Liežuvis): the language of orcs, and one of the official languages of the North. Orc is considered one of the most beautiful and poetic languages to all but the Elves of the Empire, and outside of the Empire, Orc poetry, plays, and special operas (Orc: klajojimas) are known to draw large crowds. Orc is increasingly becoming a tactical battle language as the North provides tacit support to the Freedom & Democracy Movement and Goblin Rebellions in the Empire, and this use is only going to grow in time. Orc is based on Lithuanian. * Gnomish (Gnomish: Szárazföldi): the language of gnomes, spoken almost exclusively by enslaved gnomes in Dixie. Using the unique and ridiculously complex Gnomish orthography, Gnomish is considered a subversive language of potential rebellion and is banned in the Empire while being heavily suppressed especially within Dixie. Little is known about the history of Gnomish, but it is thought that it may be a language unrelated to any of the other major languages. Gnomish is based on Hungarian. Minor Languages * Halfling (Halfling: Pequeño): the language of halflings, spoken in the border regions of the Empire and in the North, along with tiny colony villages in Dongxi Lu. Halfling is considered a "degenerate and unholy combination of Common and Elvish" by the Empire, and while it is not outright banned like Gnomish, Goblin, or "degenerate Elvish", speaking Halfling is considered a "low-status" marker. For most of its history, Halfling has developed in isolation, but is increasingly being used as a trade lingua franca on the borders between the North and the Empire. Halfling is based on Spanish. * Aarakockran (Aarakockran: Тэнгэр): the language of the Aarakockran bird-people in the deep mountains and dusty border-plains of Dongxi Lu, Aarakockran is an extremely insular language that has mostly developed by itself and is almost exclusively spoken in the southern mountain regions of the nation. Aarakockran is a complex language that relies on a "click-pause-tone" system that makes it easy for the beaked Aarakockrans to speak but a bit harder for the "non-beaked races". An old language whose vocabulary primarily consists of religious terms and long-winded metaphors, it is considered a strange peculiarity nearly everywhere else, but Aarakockran songs, especially throat-sung divine songs (Aarakockran: Оргил үе) have been scientifically analyzed to be phonetically beautiful to many who hear them. Based on Mongolian and a little Tibetan. More to come!